History


Jalisco and the Refugee Crisis

  Jalisco state in Mexico rings in the ears with mariachi music and brightly dressed dancers twirling, while onlookers toast glasses of tequila.  Both this iconic music and the even more iconic drink fermented and distilled from the blue agave are said to have been born there.  Nat King Cole and Elvis sang the praises of Guadalajara, Jalisco's capital, and the beaches of Puerto Vallarata will undoubtedly tickle the memory circuits of many folks from Central Wisconsin.  Colorful and inspiring, Jalisco is also home to one of Mexico's  brutal drug cartels and ...

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RETURN OF THE ROBBER BARONS 3.0

THE POLITICIAN WILL HAVE TO DISGUISE HIMSELF Non-Partisan Leader Cartoon 1917 https://digitalhorizonsonline.org/digital/collection/ndsu-npl/id/45/rec/68 North Dakota State University Archives The Non-Partisan League was formed by the farmers of N.D. because neither the Republicans nor the Democrats of that time were serving their interests. The League would go on to establish the public Bank of North Dakota in 1919 which serves the people of N.D. to this day.   Americans are frightened and appalled by the current assault on traditional federal ...

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A WAR CORESPONDENT

Those of us born in the 1940’s and 50’s well remember the Cuban missile crisis when the Soviet Union placed missiles in Cuba that were minutes from destroying Washington DC and other major US cities. And we all remember President Kennedy’s speech to the American people telling us that the Soviet Union meant no harm and was just defending itself from American aggression and that Cuba was a sovereign nation and had every right to allow Russia to place missiles on its soil. There was nothing to worry about.   Of course, we all know exactly the opposite ...

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Fifty Five Earth Days Later

2025 marks the fifty fifth Earth Day.  The local chapter of the Citizen's Climate Lobby and our NAOMI friends invite you to celebrate another Beloved Community Earth Day in Wausau at Westview Terrace Park (1501 Bissell St) at 10 AM on Saturday, April 26th.   Wisconsin and Earth Day go back a long way together.  Truth be told, without Wisconsin Earth Day might not even exist.  Horrified by a disastrous oil spill off the coast of California in 1969, our own Senator Gaylord Nelson conceived and set in motion the gears that made Earth Day 1970 a phenomenon to be ...

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Earth Day 2025


Vaccinations: Who Needs Them?

According to the most recent information available on the CDC.gov website, “As of March 27, 2025, a total of 483 confirmed measles cases were reported by 20 jurisdictions: Alaska, California, Florida, Georgia, Kansas, Kentucky, Maryland, Michigan, Minnesota, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York City, New York State, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Tennessee, Texas, Vermont, and Washington”.  Who should be concerned, and why?   First, Trump and Musk are eliminating jobs in the CDC and the NIH at alarming rates. These people have 20 twenty years or more of ...

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Costs of Foolishness

“The whole problem with the world is that fools and fanatics are always so certain of themselves, and wiser people so full of doubts.” Bertrand Russell (1872 –1970), British philosopher The fools and fanatics currently in control of our country have no understanding of what government is about, how it operates, or the importance it has for people and society. But they are “certain of themselves” and their anti-government ideology. Many people are going to be hurt, and many will literally die from their ignorant, mean spirited, shortsighted actions. John Adams ...

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RETURN OF THE ROBBER BARRONS 2.0

Cartoon from North Dakota Non-Partisan Leader 01/07/1918 The Non-Partisan League was formed by the farmers of N.D. because neither the Republicans nor the Democrats of that time were serving their interests. The League would go on to establish the public Bank of North Dakota in 1919 which serves the people of N.D. to this day. https://digitalhorizonsonline.org/digital/collection/ppf/id/24648/rec/2 Most Americans are becoming alarmed and shocked by the current assault on various long-established Federal Programs by the Trump Administration and the so-called ...

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Immigration Lies

President Trump’s Border Czar, Tom Homan, said, “If you are in the country illegally, you are on the table. We have millions of people with background investigations, paying a fee, standing in line to come into this country the right way,” giving the impression that people entering this country “the right way” would be safe. At best he was misleading the American public. Last week, 600,000 Venezuelan refugees with proper background checks and vetting by the Department of Immigration (DPI) had their Temporary Protective Status (TPS) classification cancelled. ...

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Indinawemaaganidog – We are ALL Related

Many Native American tribes have a word meaning "We are ALL related".  For the Ojibwe people that word is Indinawemaaganidog.  It represents a concept foreign to English speakers in its all-encompassing inclusivity.  Not only are all people part of a single family, but so is all of life on this fine planet, including rocks and mountains, rivers and lakes.  Knowingly, living in a world full of family is rich with implications.  We respect family, we honor and love our family.  We are grateful for gifts given, wanting to give something in return.  Most importantly, ...

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